Adventures in Korea and Beyond

Bungee!

My weight in kilometers proudly stamped on my hand, I eagerly made my way towards the metal, grated bridge suspended 160 meters above the rushing Bhote Kosi River. As myself and twenty fellow adrenaline-seekers made our way towards the heaving bridge, an oppressive silence descended upon our group. The closer we got to the bridge, the more tension that could be felt in every step.

Despite the apprehension I could feel building up around me, I was surprising calm. My breathing was even and my heart beat remained slow and steady. I was pretty pleased with myself.

Through the grates on the bridge, we could see huge boulders protruding from the water below. Simply standing on the bridge, which was swaying back and forth with the wind, seemed perilous. Falling from this precarious perch would, without a doubt, be fatal.

“So, uh, whose going to man up and go first?” asked a lanky young man who sounded vaguely English.

I was shocked to hear the words coming out of my mouth, “I will! I’m ready to go!”

My impulsive response was met with a few hesitant claps and whistles from the predominantly male group.

I mentally prepared myself to be the first one to take this enormous leap of faith.

I bounced around, shaking off the budding anxiety. One of the men in uniform began to speak.

“Please line up according to the weight on your hand. Heaviest first, lightest in the back please.”

My heart sank as I realized that I was the lightest in our group of husky men. Despite my desire to take the inaugural jump, I would be pushed to the very back of the line.

For two hours, I sat cross-legged on the metal-grated bridge suspended 160 meters above the rushing water. For two hours, I watched jumper after jumper leap into the air and scream for their life. For two hours, I was painstakingly patient.

“Remember to walk like a penguin and fly like an eagle,” the bungee jump man instructed me as I waddled out onto the tiny platform overhanging in thin air. He continued, “That’s it, that’s it, careful now. You ready?” Finally, I was up.

“One, two…”

I bent my knees in an athletic stance.

This is going to be AWESOME! I am going to DIE! I’m effing terrified to lose my PANTS!

“…three, jump!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I was soaring over the river gorge, mountains rising above me, plummeting at an alarming rate towards the water below. Down, down, down and I was reeling back up, up, up, feeling the reverberations of the jump throughout my entire body.

Making sense of the world upside down is bizarrely challenging. Bouncing up and down as the bungee jump experience came to a close, I was spinning and spinning, desperately trying to convince my brain to turn the images around. It was useless… but…that was it…

I did it! I bungee jumped!

Bungee jumping wasn’t on any bucket list that may exist somewhere in the deep chasms of my mind. Bungee jumping wasn’t even on my radar as something I was interested in doing.

And yet, I did it!

The Last Resort, located three hours north-west of Thamel along the Tibet-Nepal border, is a top-notch resort offering bungee jumping, white water rafting and everything in between. In addition to hosting the third highest bungee jump in the world, The Last Resort is also home to the highest canyon swing in the world. You can sign up at The Last Resort in Thamel; from there, everything is taken care of. You meet at 5:30 am and hop on a big tourist bus with fellow thrill-seekers to wind your way up into the mountains for the day. If you’ve got a day to spare while you’re in Kathmandu, The Last Resort is the way to go!